Disclaimer

This board neither advocates nor disparages any religion. If you do, we would be most grateful if you would kindly go about the business of being holy in a manner that doesn't involve killing or maiming the rest of us.

Posts Tagged ‘New English Library’

Yep, something of a mini-Wheatley special! Even the editorial by David Sutton et al is mainly devoted to “Britain’s Occult Uncle”‘s scary A Letter To Posterity. Best of all, lead feature, Dennis And All His Works is by Phil Baker himself and serves as an intriguing taster for the biography as the five pages of text concern themselves with the interesting stuff, namely the Black Magic novels and Wheatley’s commendable WWII exploits as a deception planner and propagandist. Mr. Baker suggests that Wheatley wasn’t quite the expert on black sorcery he made himself out to be (i gather he’s far more explicit in the biog), but most modern Occultists, however loathe they are to admit it, probably got into the game via a dogeared copy of The Devil Rides Out. In passing, Mr. Baker also detects the Wheatley influence on June Johns’ Black Magic Today and Sandra Shulman’s The Degenerates, both “published by iconic paperback imprint New English Library which also published Richard Allen’s Skinhead books.” Considering the little space at his disposal, Mr. Baker works in plenty of tantalising snippets including the true identity of ‘Conky Bill, and the revelation that Wheatley & chums perpetrated a ‘Linda Lovecraft’ style scam in the Daily Mail when they introduced glamourous socialite Ermintrude Wraxwell to the gossip column (“next day, offers started coming in from agents and film companies. Had we named a real girl, we could have made a fortune from her.”). Even the flame girl covers get a paragraph! Also, from nowhere, Curtain Of Fear and Such Power Is Dangerous have abseiled to near the top of my wants list although, admittedly, perhaps not for the reasons DW would’ve wished.

Somebody up there likes us because as an added bonus, there’s another six pager, this one by Stewart T. Stanyard, celebrating fiftieth anniversary of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone.

Andrew Jarvis found her unconscious, her naked body horribly scarred with bites and scratches, and all the marks of violent sexual abuse. He was drawn like a moth to the flame but it was not she who was the victim – it was Andrew.

Before he knew it he was under her spell, plunged unwillingly into a world of ritual and demonic evil. For she was one of The Apart, a woman who drew her terrible powers from the devils themselves, a woman who slept with demons…

Penny was born under a good sign. The right star at the right time. She is ideal for the Devil.

Midsummer Night approaches: a windswept Peak District lays bare its soul, anticipating the arrival of His Satanic Majesty. And Penny, the provincial young Night School mistress from a nearby estate, prepares herself for the ultimate violation.

“Shame, pain and power,” the gypsy said, “all three are yours – or nothing.”

Thus the gypsies told the fortune of little Alys, daughter of the vicious broom-maker of the Purbeck moors.
Alys kept this dream of her future to herself, to give her hope through the years of pain and starvation until she was old enough to run away and seek her fortune.

But the world was not kind to her, and she found that she had to be harsh, ruthless and cruel to achieve her ambitions. She was even willing to join a witches’ coven to practice their potions on the King, and so become his mistress. At last she had the power he had always sought, but at what cost to her eternal soul ….